The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, 390 pages, read by Leslie, on 05/19/2013

In a society that purges thirteen-year-olds who are creative, identical twins Aaron and Alex are separated, one to attend University while the other, supposedly Eliminated, finds himself in a wondrous place where youths hone their abilities and learn magic.

Someone touts it as “Hunger Games meets Harry Potter” on the cover, not really, in my opinion. Yes, it has a magic element, a kindly, older mentor, and several sneaky boys. Yes, there is a point where children are weeded out of their society and sent to what they think is their death. However, I didn’t really find it to be a meshing of the two stories. Another book that I don’t think I want to read the sequel to, it was a fine story, but beyond that, it doesn’t really pique my interest. Kids may find it very fascinating, though.